This  paper,  read  to  the  Prairie  Club  of  Des  Moines,  December 
17,  1910,  seemed  to  the  members  so  important  that  its  publication 
was  directed  by  unanimous  vote.  The  conclusions  and  recommen- 
dations of  the  paper  are  endorsed  by  the  Prairie  Club,  the  members 
of  which  are  the  following  named  gentlemen : 

DR.  A.  R.  AMOS,  Physician. 

JOHNSON  BRIGHAM,  State  Librarian. 

JAS.  G.  BERRYHILL,  Capitalist. 

REV.  J.  P.  BURLING,  Greenwood  Congregational  Church. 

JUDGE  GEO.  H.  CARR,  General  Attorney  C.  G.  W.  Railway  for  Iowa. 
E.  E.  CLARK,  President  Bankers’  Life  Association. 

GARDNER  COWLES,  Proprietor  of  Register  and  Leader. 

WM.  E.  COMFORT,  Merchant. 

JUDGE  H.  E.  DEEMER,  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Iowa. 

C.  A.  DUDLEY,  Lawyer. 

JAS.  C.  DAVIS,  General  Attorney  C.  & N.  W.  Railway  for  Iowa. 
JUDGE  W.  D.  EVANS,  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Iowa. 

EX-GOV.  WARREN  GARST,  Lawyer. 

GEO.  F.  HENRY,  Lawyer. 

PROF.  FRANK  I.  HERRIOTT,  Professor  of  Economics  and  Political 
Science,  Drake  University. 

JAS.  R.  HANNA,  Mayor  of  the  City  of  Des  Moines. 

JAS.  C.  HUME,  Lawyer. 

JANSEN  HAINES,  Manager  Des  Moines  Gas  Co. 

DR.  GERSHOM  H.  HILL,  Physician. 

HARVEY  INGHAM,  Editor  Register  and  Leader. 

REV.  J.  F.  JAMIESON,  Elmwood  United  Presbyterian  Church. 

JUDGE  EMLIN  McCLAIN,  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Iowa. 

JUDGE  JESSE  A.  MILLER,  Lawyer. 

H.  S.  NOLLEN,  Secretary  Bankers’  Life  Association. 

W.  O.  RIDDELL,  Superintendent  of  Des  Moines  Schools. 

JUDGE  GEO.  S.  ROBINSON,  of  the  State  Board  of  Control. 

PROF.  LEWIS  W.  SMITH,  Professor  of  English,  Drake  University. 

H.  H.  STIPP,  Lawyer. 

HENRY  WALLACE,  Editor  of  Wallaces’  Farmer. 

H.  C.  WALLACE,  Associate  Editor  and  Manager  of  Wallaces’  Farmer. 
JAS.  B.  WEAVER,  JR.,  Lawyer. 

W.  W.  WITMER. 

CARROLL  WRIGHT,  Attorney  C.,  R.  I.  & P.  Railway  for  Iowa  and 
South  Dakota. 


EDUCATION  FOR  THE  IOWA  FARM  BOY 


A paper  read  before  the  Prairie  Club  of  Des  Moines 
on  December  17,  1910 


HARDAWAY 


*"  iLLINOf! 


EDUCATION  FOR  THE  IOWA  FARM  BOY. 


By  H.  C.  Wallace , Associate  Editor  of  Wallaces’  Farmer. 


In  recent  years  the  higher  prices  of  agricultural  products 
and  the  consequent  higher  cost  of  living  have  turned  the  atten- 
tion of  the  nation,  and  especially  of  the  residents  of  cities,  sharp- 
ly toward  the  need  for  better  farming  and  bigger  crops.  There 
has  been  widespread  complaining  against  the  farmer.  He  has 
for  generations  been  making  a bare  living  for  his  family.  He 
. has  sold  the  fruits  of  his  labor,  not  for  what  he  might  determine 
to  be  a fair  price  after  making  due  allowance  for  the  money  in- 
9 vested  and  the  labor  expended,  but  for  what  the  buyer  has  been 
willing  to  pay.  If  the  average  farmer  has  made  money,  it  has 
been  by  the  work  of  his  children,  by  saving — through  the  prac- 
tice of  the  strictest  economy — and  by  the  increase  in  the  value 
of  his  land  through  the  growth  in  population.  If  the  average 
farmer  should  deduct  from  his  gross  earnings  a fair  interest  on 
the  money  invested  in  land  and  equipment,  make  a reasonable 
allowance  for  depreciation  of  equipment,  and  pay  a fair  price 
for  all  the  labor  used  aside  from  his  own,  he  would  have  for  his 
own  labor,  during  a ten-year  period,  less  than  the  wages  of  the 
clerk,  the  stenographer  or  the  freight  brakeman.  Without 
analyzing  this  condition,  the  bright  farm  boy  has  recognized 
its  existence ; hence  the'  drift  from  the  farm  to  town,  and  to  new 
sections  where  cheap  land  can  be  had,  thus  duplicating  for  him 
the  opportunities  of  his  father. 

With  the  coming  of  the  higher  prices  for  agricultural  prod- 
ucts came,  as  I have" said,  widespread  complaint  against  the 


0493 


4 


farmer.  From  the  humble  toiler,  thankfully  receiving  whatever 
the  buyer  saw  fit  to  give  him,  and  with  his  much-talked-of  inde- 
pendence as  his  chief  asset,  he  became,  almost  over  night,  the 
strong  merchant,  asking  and  receiving  a fair  price  for  his  prod- 
ucts, and  finally  reached  the  point  where  he  was  not  compelled 
to  haul  his  crops  direct  from  the  fields  to  the  market  to  pay 
accumulated  debts.  The  buyer  resented  this  change.  He  had 
so  long  looked  upon  the  farmer  as  a poorly-paid  laborer,  thank- 
ful for  the  opportunity  to  serve,  that  his  changed  condition 
seemed  the  basest  ingratitude.  And  so,  from  all  sorts  and  con- 
ditions of  men,  came  suggestions  of  ways  to  enable  the  farmer 
to  produce  larger  crops,  in  order  that  they  might  be  sold 
cheaper.  The  need  for  agricultural  education  has  become  gen- 
erally recognized.  Every  city  consumer  will  agree  that  the 
farmer  must  be  educated,  not  so  much  because  he  wants  to  help 
the  farmer,  but  in  the  hope  that  educated  farmers  may  mean 
cheaper  farm  products.  Men  in  all  walks  of  life  have  been 
active  in  this  propaganda  for  agricultural  education.  Railroads 
have  run  special  trains,  carrying  instruction  in  farming,  and 
have  invited  the  farmers  to  come  and  hear.  Railroad  presidents 
have  made  speeches  in  public,  and  have  printed  pamphlets  for 
the  farmer  to  read.  Bankers  have  subscribed  for  cheap  agri- 
cultural papers  by  the  hundred  and  distributed  them  free,  in- 
stead of  calendars  and  chromos.  Merchants  have  offered  prizes 
for  the  biggest  pumpkins  and  the  largest  ears  of  corn.  State 
fairs  have  offered  free  scholarships  at  the  agricultural  colleges. 
A great  western  university  has  established  an  agricultural  guild 
and  arranged  with  the  owners  of  country  estates  to  permit  city 
youths  to  work  on  them,  so  that  if  worst  comes  to  worst  the  pro- 
duction on  the  farm  may  continue.  Magazine  writers  have  told 
of  the  romance  of  farming,  of  the  success  of  bonanza  farmers, 
and  the  magazines  are  full  of  pictures  of  the  farmer  in  his  auto- 
mobile, driving  from  one  field  to  another,  inspecting  his  crops. 


5 


The  governor  and  industrial  agent  of  a great  state  have  started 
a back-to-the-farm  movement,  and  propose  to  locate  city  labor- 
ing men  on  twenty-acre  plots.  City  school  teachers  are  taking 
homesteads  in  sections  where  the  normal  rainfall  is  less  than 
twelve  inches,  and  where  the  only  way  to  get  milk  from  a native 
cow  is  to  rope  and  throw  her  and  take  it  away  by  force. 

And  the  improvement  of  farming  is  a subject  which  may 
well  challenge  the  attention  of  the  American  people,  irrespective 
of  their  occupation  or  avocation.  With  the  growth  of  our  popu- 
lation there  must  soon  come  an  improvement  in  our  methods  of 
farming.  We  have  now  occupied  practically  all  of  our  crop- 
producing  land.  We  have  heretofore  been  a nation  of  soil  rob- 
bers. As  long  as  there  was  new  land  to  be  possessed,  we  wor- 
ried little  about  wasted  fertility.  While  we  were  harvesting  the 
fertility  of  the  ages,  crop  production  was  measured  largely  by 
the  work  expended.  The  most  successful  farmer  was  he  who 
could  work  and  work  his  dependents  longest  and  hardest.  But 
when  successive  crops  have  taken  out  of  the  soil  the  fertility 
which  is  immediately  available,  the  farmer  who  grows  a crop 
that  will  bring  him  more  than  it  costs  must  learn  how  to  unlock 
the  reserve  store  which  nature  yields  only  to  him  who  has  studied 
her  laws.  He  must  use  brains  as  well  as  strength.  He  must 
learn  how  to  restore  the  fertility  which  he  took  away.  He  must 
learn  the  laws  of  breeding  and  feeding  live  stock.  He  must  learn 
how  to  grow  larger  crops  on  less  land.  He  must  learn  how  to 
combat  the  various  insect  pests  which  multiply  under  ignorant 
farming.  He  must  learn  how  to  protect  his  crops  from  the  rav- 
ages of  various  low  forms  of  parasitic  plant  life.  These  things 
are  not  to  be  learned  from  the  so-called  practical  farmer.  How- 
ever skillful  he  may  become  in  the  art  of  farming,  he  can  learn 
the  science  only  from  the  scientist,  or  from  the  scientific  farmer. 

Hence  the  education  of  the  farmer  becomes  a matter  of  the 
greatest  moment  to  the  nation  at  large.  Our  population  is  in- 


6 


creasing  and  must  be  fed.  Our  land  is  practically  occupied. 
Within  a comparatively  few  years,  as  we  measure  time  in  a large 
way,  we  must  increase  our  crop  yields  or  go  hungry.  More  in- 
tensive farming  in  the  way  of  better  cultural  methods  will  tem- 
porarily increase  the  yield  per  acre.  The  labor  now  put  upon 
a quarter  section  will,  if  intelligently  expended  on  eighty  acres, 
give  as  great  or  greater  returns.  But  improvement  in  the  art 
of  “tickling  the  earth”  is  but  a temporary  expedient.  The  store 
of  fertility  in  the  soil  is  limited.  If  taken  away  year  by  year, 
and  nothing  returned,  it  will  be  exhausted  as  certainly  as  is  the 
vein  of  coal.  Improved  cultivation,  alone,  acts  upon  the  soil  as 
a stimulant  does  upon  the  human  organism — it  exhausts  its 
strength  all  the  more  rapidly.  The  great  problem  with  which 
as  a nation  wre  are  confronted,  is  not  alone  that  of  growing 
greater  crops,  but  of  doing  this  and  at  the  same  time  so  con- 
serving the  soil  that  we — and  our  sons  after  us — may  continue 
to  grow  them,  and  this  problem  can  be  solved  only  by  the  edu- 
cated, scientific  farmer. 

It  is  the  purpose  of  this  paper,  therefore,  to  consider  what 
we  have  been  and  are  now  doing  to  educate  the  boys  and  young 
men  who  are  to  be  the  farmers  of  the  future,  and  to  tentatively 
suggest  some  things  we  should  do  hereafter  if  we  work  out  this 
problem  as  satisfactorily  as  we  have  heretofore  worked  out 
other  problems  of  similar  importance.  To  this  end  I propose  to 
outline  as  briefly  as  possible  the  general  methods  of  education 
followed  in  some  advanced  foreign  countries,  and  contrast  them 
with  our  own ; second,  to  deal  with  secondary  agricultural  edu- 
cation in  foreign  countries ; third,  to  discuss  the  condition  in 
this  state,  and  offer  some  suggestions  as  to  the  methods  by  which 
it  might  be  improved.  My  information  on  the  school  systems 
of  foreign  countries  has  been  gathered  and  appropriated  from 
a general  reading  of  everything  I have  been  able  to  find  bearing 


7 


on  the  subject.  The  best  single  work  I have  found  is  Making  of 
a Citizen,  by  Robert  Edward  Hughes,  of  Oxford. 

The  German  System. 

As  one  writer  has  put  it,  the  German  school  system  has  long 
been  the  admiration  of  the  pedagogic  world.  It  is  designed  not 
alone  to  impart  knowledge,  but  to  make  citizens.  It  is  a national 
interest.  The  system  is  bureaucratic.  A minister  of  ecclesi- 
astical education  and  medical  affairs  directs  the  educational 
work  of  the  nation.  The  school  officials  are  officers  of  the  state. 
They  appoint  and  dismiss  teachers.  They  prescribe  what  is  to 
be  taught.  The  people  at  large  have  nothing  to  say  concerning 
the  manner  in  which  the  school  shall  be  conducted.  Education 
is  compulsory,  and  it  is  estimated  that  fully  ninety  per  cent  of 
the  total  enrollment  is  daily  in  attendance  at  school.  Going  to 
school  is  a national  habit.  Parents  are  held  strictly  account- 
able for  the  attendance  of  their  children,  and  are  fined  for  each 
day  the  child  is  absent  without  good  reason.  If  the  fine  is  not 
paid  they  are  sent  to  jail.  The  schools  are  very  largely  sup- 
ported by  the  state.  City  schools  receive  about  one-third  of  the 
amount  required  to  conduct  them — the  amount  varying  in  pro- 
portion as  the  city  is  able  to  pay.  Country  schools  receive  about 
two-thirds  of  their  total  expense  from  the  state.  The  atmos- 
phere of  the  schools  is  distinctly  religious.  In  no  country  are 
the  teachers  so  thoroughly  prepared.  Teaching  in  Germany  is 
a profession,  and  the  teacher  ranks  high  in  the  social  scale.  It 
is  said  that  one-fifth  of  the  teachers  are  the  sons  of  teachers. 
One-third  of  them  come  from  the  agricultural  people.  The  Ger- 
man teacher  is  trained  through  a period  of  six  years,  first  as  a 
pupil  in  the  normal  preparatory  school,  then  for  three  years  a 
student  in  the  normal  college,  and  before  being  placed  in  full 
charge  of  classes  must  undergo  a course  of  preparatory  train- 
ing in  actual  school  work,  as  an  assistant  teacher  and  under  th^ 


8 


direction  of  a head  teacher,  and  subject  to  frequent  inspection 
and  examination  by  government  inspectors.  The  result  is  that 
German  instruction  is  thorough  and  consistent.  Being  an  officer 
of  the  state,  the  German  teacher  is  pensioned  after  ten  years 
of  service,  if  he  retires  because  of  disability,  and  is  retired  on  a 
full  service  pension  at  the  age  of  sixty-five. 

The  system  of  secondary  schools  is  complete,  and  adapted 
to  the  needs  of  the  various  classes  of  German  society.  Three 
secondary  schools  have  six-year  courses  and  three  others  nine 
years.  The  work  covered  in  the  nine-year  schools  is  equal  to 
the  courses  of  many  leading  universities  of  other  lands.  The 
teachers  in  the  secondary  schools  of  Germany  are  said  to  be  the 
finest  body  of  teachers  in  the  world.  They  must  first  complete 
the  nine  years’  course ; second,  they  must  attend  for  three  years 
in  the  university;  third,  they  must  meet  special  state  examina- 
tions. After  having  done  this,  they  are  assigned  to  certain  sec- 
ondary schools  under  the  care  of  the  director.  During  the  first 
year  they  do  not  teach  at  all,  but  watch  the  teachers  at  their 
work.  Next  they  are  permitted  to  teach  two  hours  weekly  in 
the  presence  of  the  director  and  regular  teachers.  Then  comes 
the  trial  year,  during  which  they  teach  regularly,  a part  of  the 
time  under  the  eye  of  a director.  They  then  prepare  a written 
report  of  progress  made,  and  this  report,  together  with  the 
report  of  the  director  upon  the  candidate’s  work,  is  sent  to  the 
provincial  board,  which  appoints  the  candidate  to  a permanent 
place.  The  supply  of  teachers  is  plentiful,  and  very  often  the 
candidate  must  wait  for  some  little  time  before  securing  his  posi- 
tion. Having  once  gotten  into  the  work,  however,  his  tenure  is 
secure.  With  such  a system  and  with  such  teachers,  it  is  not 
surprising  that  the  Germans  are  in  many  respects  the  best  edu- 
cated people  in  the  world. 


9 


The  French  System. 

Like  the  German,  the  French  system  of  education  is  national 
in  its  character  and  bureaucratic  in  its  administration.  The 
head  is  the  minister  of  public  instruction,  who  has  about  him  an 
advisory  council  of  sixty  members.  Of  these,  three-fourths  are 
appointed  by  the  professors  and  teachers,  and  one-fourth  by  the 
president.  The  minister  of  public  instruction  keeps  in  very 
close  touch  with  the  work  of  the  schools  throughout  the  nation, 
through  ten  general  inspectors  and  a large  number  of  primary 
inspectors,  who  make  their  headquarters  at  Paris.  The  system 
is  divided  into  seventeen  academies,  each  academy  being  com- 
posed of  the  local  university  and  all  the  secondary  and  primary 
schools  within  its  area.  These  academies  are  presided  over  by 
rectors,  appointed  by  the  president.  They  are  in  turn  divided 
into  departments,  with  a civil  head,  the  prefect,  for  each  depart- 
ment. He  appoints  the  teachers  from  a list  drawn  up  by  the 
academy  inspectors,  of  which  there  is  one  to  each  department. 
Under  this  inspector  are  the  primary  inspectors,  numbering  be- 
tween 450  and  500,  each  one  having  the  supervision  over  about 
150  schools.  The  departmental  council,  made  up  of  fourteen 
members,  constitutes  the  departmental  board  of  education.  This 
council  is  composed  of  four  counsellors,  elected  by  the  teachers, 
the  directors  of  the  normal  training  college,  two  primary  in- 
spectors appointed  by  the  minister  of  education,  and  two  male 
and  two  primary  female  teachers  elected  by  the  teachers  of  the 
department.  This  council  supervises  the  courses  of  study, 
methods  of  instruction,  and  has  general  supervision  over  the 
schools.  The  people  have  little  to  say  concerning  the  education 
given  their  children.  Compulsory  education  goes  to  the  extent 
of  even  supervising  the  instruction  given  children  in  private 
schools  and  families — the  children  under  special  teachers  at 
home  being  examined  at  the  end  of  each  year  by  a committee, 


10 


of  which  the  primary  inspector  is  chairman,  and  if  the  result  of 
the  examination  is  not  satisfactory,  parents  are  required  to 
send  the  children  to  either  public  or  private  schools.  This  sys- 
tem is  not  followed  as  closely  now  as  some  years  since.  A list 
of  the  children  of  school  age  is  made  up  each  year,  and  if  the 
children  are  not  in  school,  or  if  a reasonable  excuse  is  not  fur- 
nished for  absence,  the  parents  are  warned,  and  if  warned  twice 
within  a year,  they  are  fined.  The  laws  concerning  the  employ- 
ment of  children  are  strict.  Nothing  is  permitted  to  come  be- 
tween a child  and  his  opportunity  for  at  least  a primary  edu- 
cation. 

The  state  pays  the  teachers  of  the  primary  and  infant 
schools,  of  the  higher  primary  and  manual  training  schools, 
and  of  the  normal  schools ; also  it  pays  all  inspectors  and 
other  officials,  and  their  traveling  expenses.  The  department 
pays  a certain  sum  per  annum  to  each  primary  inspector.  The 
state  contributes  from  fifty  to  seventy  per  cent  of  the  cost  of 
maintaining  the  public  primary  schools,  and  in  some  cases  even 
more.  In  the  cities,  the  cost  is  mostly  borne  by  the  municipality. 
Between  six  and  seven  thousand  of  the  primary  schools  are  pro- 
vided with  gymnasiums,  and  nearly  one  thousand  have  work- 
shops for  manual  training.  In  the  cities,  practically  every  boys’ 
school  is  provided  with  a manual  training  workship,  and  manual 
training  is  compulsory.  In  the  neighborhood  of  sixty  thousand 
primary  schools  have  school  gardens.  The  nation  controls  the 
secondary  schools  as  completely  as  the  primary.  There  are 
two  principal  secondary  schools  in  France — the  Lycee  and  the 
Communal  College.  Children  enter  the  Lycee  at  eight  years  and 
graduate  at  eighteen,  with  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  France.  Those  who  wish  to  do  so  remain  for  two 
years  longer,  and  thus  obtain  exemption  from  two  years’  mili- 
tary service.  The  work  in  the  Lycee  is  absolutely  regulated  by 
the  state,  and  is  uniform  throughout  all  of  the  schools.  The 


11 


Communal  College  is  a local  institution,  although  the  state  con- 
tributes materially  to  its  support. 

As  in  Germany,  the  teachers  in^France  are  employes  of  the 
state.  The  preparation  of  the  teachers  is  of  the  same  general 
nature  as  in  Germany,  but  not  so  thorough.  The  requirements, 
so  far  as  mental  equipment  is  concerned,  are  strict,  but  there 
is  less  attention  given  to  the  ability  of  the  teacher  to  teach.  The 
teacher’s  promotion  depends,  however,  upon  his  individual  abil- 
ity, and  there  is  less  difference  in  the  wages  paid  teachers  in 
classes.  They  are  entitled  to  a pension  at  sixty  years  of  age, 
and  in  case  of  death  a certain  portion  of  this  pension  passes  on 
to  the  widow.  The  pension  fund  is  accumulated  in  large  part 
by  a deduction  of  five  per  cent  per  annum  from  the  teacher’s 
salary. 

The  English  System. 

The  English  nation  was  the  last  of  the  great  nations  to 
admit  the  obligation  or  the  desirability  of  the  state  to  educate 
or  even  partially  educate  its  youth.  Not  until  1870  were  there 
any  state  schools  in  England.  Education  fa s secured  entirely 
at  private  schools — some  of  which,  however,  received  financial 
aid  from  the  government.  The  educational  act  of  1870,  and 
those  which  followed,  resulted  in  placing  schools  within  reach  of 
practically  all  the  children  in  England  and  Wales.  The  schools 
are  controlled  entirely  by  the  communities  in  which  they  are 
located;  but  certain  conditions  are  imposed  before  they  can 
secure  funds  from  the  board  of  education.  The  law  requires' 
every  child  between  the  years  of  five  and  fourteen  to  attend 
every  session  of  the  school  unless  the  child  is  receiving 
proper  instruction  elsewhere  or  is  exempt  because  twelve  years 
of  age  and  has  reached  a certain  standard  of  proficiency;  or 
thirteen  years  of  age  and  has  made,  for  five  consecutive  years, 
350  attendances  per  annum.  There  are  further  exemptions  in 


12 


the  case  of  country  children.  The  percentage  of  attendance  has 
been  steadily  increasing,  the  average  for  children  over  seven 
years  of  age  running  close  to  ninety  per  cent.  When  the  educa- 
tional act  was  passed,  the  number  of  children  in  the  schools  was 
less  than  eight  per  cent  of  the  estimated  population.  The  num- 
ber now  is  nearly  twenty  per  cent.  Between  eight  and  ten  thou- 
sand savings  banks  are  established  at  the  primary  schools,  and 
about  the  same  number  of  school  libraries. 

The  English  teachers  are  of  four  different  classes — the  cer- 
tificated teachers,  which  hold  their  certificates  from  the  board 
of  education;  these  certificates  are  for  life,  and  these  teachers 
are  entitled  to  a pension  at  sixty-five  years  of  age. 

Assistant  teachers  are  those  who  have  passed  certain  exami- 
nations but  have  not  had  normal  school  training.  The  examina- 
tion is  one  held  by  the  government  for  the  selection  of  candi- 
dates for  training  colleges. 

Additional  teachers  are  those  who  have  had  no  professional 
training  of  any  sort.  They  are  young  women  approved  by  the 
government  inspector  without  examination. 

Pupil  teachers  are  engaged  by  the  school  management,  and 
are  fifteen  to  eighteen  years  of  age.  They  teach  under  the 
superintendence  of  the  head  teachers,  and  receive  suitable 
instruction  while  teaching. 

The  pension  fund  is  made  up  of  contributions  by  the  teach- 
ers, supplemented  by  the  government.  These  contributions  are 
used  to  purchase  an  annuity  at  retiring  age,  which  averages 
something  over  $320  for  male  teachers  and  $210  for  females. 

From  the  pedagogic  viewpoint,  the  educational  systems  of 
Germany  and  France  are  admirable.  They  are  well  adminis- 
tered, economical  and  efficient.  There  is  no  lost  motion.  In 
these  countries,  and  in  England  as  well,  the  lines  of  class  are 
firmly  drawn,'  and  the  educational  systems  are  devised  to  give 
the  youth  of  each  particular  class  the  kind  of  knowledge  and 


13 


early  training  which  will  make  them  most  useful  for  service  in 
that  class.  The  life  work  of  the  youth  in  any  particular  class 
is  determined  at  an  early  age,  and  his  schooling  is  such  as  to  fit 
him,  so  far  as  possible,  for  that  particular  work.  The  oppor- 
tunity for  the  boy  of  one  class  to  break  through  the  barriers 
into  the  class  above  him  are  limited,  are  hedged  about  in  every 
way,  and  the  educational  systems  do  little  to  break  down  these 
barriers.  On  this  subject,  Draper,  commissioner  of  education 
of  New  York,  says : 

“The  English  purpose  would  have  every  English  child  read 
and  write  and  work.  England  has  simple  but  effective  elemental 
schools  for  the  peasant  class.  All  peasant  children  go  to  them. 
Although  they  know  nothing  of  American  opportunities,  the 
percentage  of  illiteracy  is  lower  than  in  our  American  states. 
Of  course,  England  has  schools  for  the  higher  classes,  but  there 
is  no  educational  mixing  of  classes  and  no  articulation  or  con- 
tinuity of  work.  The  controlling  influence  in  English  politics 
is  distinctly  opposed  to  universalizing  education  through  fear 
of  unsettling  the  status  and  letting  loose  the  ambition  of  the 
serving  classes. 

“So  it  is  also  in  France.  Notwithstanding  the  republican 
form  of  government,  the  thought  of  a thousand  years  is  con- 
trolling. The  children  of  the  masses  are  trained  for  service, 
and  humble  service,  though  possibly  somewhat  higher  than 
across  the  Channel.  They  are  trained  for  examinations  and  for 
routine  rather  than  for  power. 

“There  is  more  to  admire  in  the  German  purpose  and  plan, 
for  ambition  and  determination  are  not  lacking  in  the  nation, 
and  the  kaiser  knows  that  the  material  strength  and  the  military 
power  of  the  German  empire  rests  upon  the  intelligence  of  the 
German  masses  and  the  prductivity  of  the  German  labor.” 


14 


The  American  System. 

The  American  system,  or  lack  of  system,  as  some  are  dis- 
posed to  regard  it,  could  exist  only  in  such  a country  as  Amer- 
ica. While  the  national  government  has,  especially  since  the 
middle  of  the  last  century,  taken  an  active  part  in  encouraging 
educational  work,  and  has  from  time  to  time  given  large  tracts 
of  land  and  made  large  money  appropriations  for  educational 
purposes,  its  part  has  been  to  encourage,  not  to  direct  or  con- 
trol. Through  the  bureau  of  education  the  nation  collects  a 
vast  amount  of  helpful  information,  and  its  influence  in  educa- 
tional matters  is  steadily  growing — not  through  any  additional 
powers  which  may  have  been  given  it,  but  through  recognition 
by  those  who  bear  the  responsibility  of  its  ability  to  help  them. 

In  the  founding  of  this  nation  there  was  no  recognition  of 
the  need  of  general  education.  That  came  with  the  working  out 
of  democratic  government,  and  it  came  slowly.  Not  until  some 
time  after  the  constitution  was  adopted  did  our  forbears  begin 
to  see  that  the  instruction  of  the  youth  of  the  land  was  a matter 
which  must  engage  their  earnest  attention.  But  when  they  were 
once  squared  away  to  the  real  task  before  them,  when  it  was 
finally  settled  that  this  would  be  a government  by  the  people, 
when  it  was  determined  that  the  citizen  was  the  sovereign,  they 
were  not  long  in  coming  to  the  conclusion  that  the  sovereign 
must  know  something  if  he  was  to  rule  intelligently;  that  he 
must  be  educated.  And  as  all  citizens  were  equally  sovereigns, 
so  all  must  have  equal  opportunities  so  far  as  the  state  was  con- 
cerned. And  so  it  came  about  that  as  the  people  pushed  west 
and  new  states  were  formed,  the  duty  of  the  state  to  educate  its 
youth  was  written  into  the  constitution,  and  the  subject  of  edu- 
cation became  more  and  more  important  in  the  eyes  of  the 
people.  With  each  succeeding  generation  the  desire  of  the  par- 
ents that  their  children  shall  have  the  education  which  they 
failed  to  get  has  grown  until  it  has  become  almost  a passion. 


15 


Without  central  control  or  direction  it  was  inevitable  that 
there  should  be  no  general  educational  system.  Each  state 
evolved  the  plan  which  seemed  best  suited  to  its  needs  and  con- 
ditions. In  some  states  we  have  the  school  district  as  the  unit, 
the  districts  varying  in  size  according  to  the  density  of  popula- 
tion. In  others  the  township  is  the  unit.  In  still  others — more 
particularly  the  southern  states — the  county. 

The  full  time — indeed,  much  more  than  the  time  permitted 
for  a paper  of  this  sort — could  be  consumed  in  tracing  the  de- 
velopment of  our  public  school  system.  There  were  many  efforts 
to  engraft  upon  it  the  French  system  of  centralized  control  in 
some  of  its  important  features.  Jefferson  suggested  such  a 
scheme  for  Virginia  in  1817.  At  least  one  state  and  possibly 
others  provided  by  law  for  some  of  the  essential  features  of  a 
thorough  state  system.  All  of  these  efforts  failed.  Our  sys- 
tems of  secondary  education,  as  we  now  have  them  in  our  splen- 
did high  schools,  have  been  developed  only  in  the  last  sixty  or 
seventy  years.  Prior  to  that  time,  secondary  education  must  be 
had  in  the  academies  which  succeeded  the  old  grammar  schools, 
the  latter  being  mostly  allied  to  some  particular  college.  These 
grammar  schools,  and  academies  as  well,  were  conducted  for  the 
purpose  of  preparing  students  for  the  colleges  and  universities, 
were  almost  entirely  schools  for  boys,  and  naturally  for  those 
boys  whose  parents  were  in  better  than  average  circumstances. 
They  were,  to  a considerable  extent,  therefore,  class  schools, 
entirely  different  from  our  democratic  high  schools. 

Not  until  very  recent  years  has  the  education  of  the  farmer 
attracted  the  attention  even  of  leaders  in  educational  thought. 
Back  in  the  ’60’s,  Justin  Morrill  secured  the  enactment  of  the 
law  which  has  always  been  known  by  his  name,  establishing  the 
land-grant  agricultural  colleges.  But  there  has  been  no  general 
or  even  local  plans  for  furnishing  the  boys  of  the  farm  secondary 
education  which  would  prepare  them  for  these  colleges.  In 


16 


their  earlier  years,  the  requirements  for  admission  to  the  state 
agricultural  colleges  were  not  so  high,  and  the  bright  boy  from 
the  country  was  able  to  secure  admission — if  not  to  the  regular 
college  classes,  at  least  to  the  preparatory  classes,  which  his 
strong,  young  body  and  vigorous  mind  enabled  him  to  wade 
through  in  a short  time.  As  time  went  on,  however,  the  agricul- 
tural colleges  became  more  ambitious,  and  gradually  raised  their 
standards,  until  now  from  Iowa  east  the  boy  who  secures  ad- 
mission to  the  freshman  class  must  bring  with  him  either  a cer- 
tificate from  an  accredited  four-year  high  school,  or  must  be 
able  to  pass  examinations  which  are  practically  equivalent  to  the 
work  of  a high  school  of  that  class.  We  have,  in  short,  gradu- 
ally built  up  the  walls  surrounding  the  agricultural  colleges, 
and  neglected,  at  the  same  time,  to  provide  within  convenient 
reach,  ladders  by  which  they  might  be  scaled  by  the  boy  from 
the  farm.  This  compels  the  farm  boy  to  spend  three  to  four 
years  in  the  town  or  city  high  school  before  he  can  prepare  him- 
self to  enter  the  agricultural  college.  The  training  he  gets  at 
the  average  high  school  is  not  the  sort  of  training  which  is  likely 
to  keep  his  thoughts  directed  toward  the  farm.  He  goes  with 
the  ambition  to  excel  in  his  studies.  He  too  often  discovers  that 
excellence  in  studies  is  not  the  most  honorable  accomplishment 
in  the  eyes  of  the  student  body.  He  finds  that  the  “shark”  is 
very  often  considered  a freak ; that  the  energy  and  enthusiasm, 
which  should  be  conserved  for  those  things  which  make  for  effi- 
ciency in  life,  for  lack  of  better  direction  finds  an  outlet  in  one- 
sided athletics ; that  the  student  body  is  divided  up  into  classes 
and  sets  by  fraternities,  or,  if  these  are  forbidden — as  they  are 
now  in  many  high  schools — clubs  which  form  their  equivalent; 
and  that  too  often  foolish  fathers  and  silly  mothers  encourage 
immature  society  life.  It  requires  a boy  of  more  than  ordinary 
steadfastness  to  pass  through  four  years  of  this  sort  of  thing 
without  being  weaned  away  from  the  farm.  The  number  which 


17 


does  finally  reach  the  college  is  very  small,  and  the  number  that 
goes  back  to  the  farm  from  the  college  still  smaller.  Even  if 
this  condition  did  not  exist — if  we  had  an  easy  road  from  the 
farm  to  the  college — we  would  not  have  made  any  material  prog- 
ress in  giving  a knowledge  of  the  principles  of  agriculture  to  the 
men  who  are  to  cultivate  the  farms  of  Iowa.  Not  one-fourth  of 
one  per  cent  of  our  future  farmers  can  ever  be  expected  to  go 
through  the  agricultural  college.  If  we  are  to  give  agricultural 
instruction  to  the  boys  who  are  to  do  the  farming,  it  must  be 
given  in  local  schools.  And  the  future  of  Iowa  agriculture  will 
be  determined  by  the  wisdom  with  which  we  work  out  this 
problem. 

AGRICULTURAL  TEACHING  IN  FOREIGN  COUNTRIES. 

What  follows  is  a very  much  abridged  quotation  from  a 
monograph  on  agricultural  education,  by  James  Ralph  Jewell, 
published  by  the  United  States  Bureau  of  Education : 

A thorough  and  comprehensive  system  of  agricultural  edu- 
cation is  of  more  importance  to  France  than  to  many  other  coun- 
tries, because,  owing  to  the  law  of  divided  inheritance,  most  of 
the  sons  of  French  peasants  will  one  day  have  strips  of  land  of 
their  own.  France  has  an  excellent  agricultural  system,  and 
the  agricultural  schools  which  the  government  ranks  as  second- 
ary are  really  on  a par  with  the  higher  institutions  of  several 
other  countries.  Instead  of  maintaining  a large  number  of  small, 
secondary  schools,  France  supports  three  large  national  agri- 
cultural schools  in  widely  separated  districts.  The  course  of 
study  covers  two  years,  and  is  arranged  to  meet  the  needs  of  the 
various  sections  of  the  country.  One  school  is  devoted  especially 
to  vine  and  olive  culture,  sheep  farming,  the  breeding  of  silk- 
worms and  the  making  of  wine  and  olive  oil.  Another  pays  espe- 
cial attention  to  cider  making,  pasturing,  farming  on  the  share 
system,  and  the  agricultural  products  of  most  importance  in 


18 


western  France.  Another  deals  especially  with  artificial  pastur- 
age, cultivation  of  cereals,  stock  breeding,  and  the  wine  indus- 
tries of  northern  France.  The  students  of  all  of  these  schools 
must  spend  their  vacations  on  farms  and  report  what  takes 
place  there.  There  are,  in  addition,  four  special  schools,  one 
devoted  to  horticulture,  one  to  agricultural  industries,  one  to 
dairy  farming  and  the  colonial  agricultural  school  at  Tunis. 

In  Belgium  there  are  both  agricultural  schools  and  agricul- 
tural sections.  The  schools  give  exclusively  professional  instruc- 
tion, while  in  the  sections  a part  of  the  time  is  given  to  the  gen- 
eral education  of  the  students.  The  schools  have  a three-year 
course  with  one  exception,  where  the  course  is  but  two  years. 
They  are  for  farmers’  sons  who  intend  to  continue  in  their  fath- 
ers’ vocations.  Tuition  is  free,  and  the  state  gives  scholarships 
to  deserving  students,  all  of  whom  must  have  been  through  the 
elementary  schools.  There  are  eighteen  of  these  schools  in  Bel- 
gium, and  a government  official  says  of  them:  “The  greatest 

service  these  schools  have  rendered  has  been  to  raise  the  agri- 
cultural profession  to  an  interesting  art,  which  fascinates  the 
learner,  and  which  he  never  desires  to  abandon.”  In  the  agricul- 
tural sections  young  farmers  may  get  a general  as  well  as  a pro- 
fessional education.  Thirty  public  and  private  secondary  schools 
give  short  courses  in  agriculture  and  horticulture,  one  each 
week  through  the  year.  There  are  four  agricultural  sections  for 
girls  and  several  high  schools  of  agriculture  with  courses  of  at 
least  two  years,  for  girls.  There  are  four  dairy  schools  for 
young  men  in  various  provinces,  with  four  months’  courses,  to 
provide  managers  for  dairies.  There  are  also  ten  traveling 
dairy  schools  for  women,  giving  four  months’  courses  of  a not- 
ably high  grade.  Two  hours  a day,  six  days  a week,  are  de- 
voted to  theoretical  instruction  and  three  hours  daily  to  prac- 
tical work. 

In  Holland  there  are  six  permanent  winter  schools  of  agri- 


19 


culture  and  horticulture  in  session  from  October  to  April,  and 
a two  years’  course  of  study.  They  are  intended  for  the  sons 
of  small  farmers  and  market  gardeners.  There  are  also  four 
horticultural  schools. 

Finland  supports  secondary  agricultural  schools  at  two  dif- 
ferent points,  as  well  as  at  the  University  of  Helsingfors.  These 
courses  are  for  two  years. 

In  Denmark  there  are  numerous  agricultural  trade  schools 
which  have  grown  largely  during  the  past  ten  years.  Since 
1892,  the  state  has  granted  funds  to  any  people’s  high  school 
which  teaches  agriculture  and  gardening,  the  limit  being  seven 
hundred  dollars  annually  to  any  one  school.  The  agricultural 
schools  and  the  high  schools  of  Denmark  are  so  closely  connected 
that  in  some  parts  of  the  country  it  is  difficult,  if  not  impossible, 
to  distinguish  between  them. 

In  Sweden  there  are  two  agricultural  high  schools,  each  with 
a two  years’  course. 

In  every  province  in  Germany  there  is  an  agricultural 
school. 

In  Switzerland  there  are  four  theoretical  and  practical 
schools  of  agriculture,  the  theoretical  work  being  given  during 
the  winter,  so  as  to  leave  the  summer  for  outdoor  work.  In  ad- 
dition, winter  courses  are  given  for  those  unable  to  attend  the 
full  course. 

In  Portugal  there  are  two  secondary  agricultural  schools. 

In  Japan  a secondary  agricultural  school  may  be  established 
by  any  city,  town  or  village  when  the  local  finances  permit  with- 
out detriment  to  the  elementary  schools  of  the  place,  and  the 
government  gives  a subsidy  to  each  such  school  running  for  five 
years.  In  1904  there  were  fifty-seven  of  these  schools,  with  7,146 
pupils,  and  the  number  has  rapidly  increased  since  then.  The 
course  of  study  is  usually  one  of  three  years.  There  are  three 


20 


higher  technical  schools  of  agriculture  which  devote  their  ener- 
gies to  special  lines,  with  courses  of  three  years  in  length. 

Secondary  Agricultural  Education  in  the  United 
States. 

In  the  United  States  we  have  made  barely  a beginning  in 
secondary  education  for  farm  boys.  Condensing  again  from 
Jewell:  Agricultural  high  schools  supported  at  least  in  part 

by  the  state  are  in  successful  operation  in  Wisconsin,  Alabama, 
and  California.  In  1902,  the  first  two  of  four  county  high 
schools  in  Wisconsin  were  opened  at  Menomonie  and  Wausau, 
the  state  paying  a substantial  share  of  the  first  cost  and  after- 
wards a sum  not  to  exceed  half  the  amount  actually  expended  in 
such  schools.  In  connection  with  the  school  at  Menomonie  is  a 
county  training  school  for  rural  teachers,  which  gives  the  county 
a body  of  teachers  fairly  well  trained  for  rudimentary  instruc- 
tion in  agriculture.  The  annual  teachers’  institute  is  made  a 
part  of  the  agricultural  summer  school,  and  the  teachers  are 
given  special  instruction  in  agriculture,  manual  training  and 
domestic  economy,  instead  of  reviewing  the  common  branches 
over  and  over  again.  To  operate  one  of  these  schools  costs  the 
farmer  twenty  cents  on  each  one  thousand  dollars  of  his  assess- 
ment. There  are  now  five  such  schools  in  Wisconsin,  and  twenty- 
one  county  training  schools  for  teachers  in  which  agriculture  is 
taught.  In  1896,  the  legislature  of  Alabama  established  an 
agricultural  school  in  each  congressional  district  of  the  state — 
nine  in  all — in  which  agriculture  is  taught  in  the  seventh  to  tenth 
grades,  inclusive.  Over  two  thousand  boys  and  girls  attend 
these  schools  annually,  and  a larger  proportion  of  them  are  do- 
ing definite  work  in  agriculture  now  than  ever  before. 

In  1906  a law  was  enacted  in  Georgia  providing  for  the  es- 
tablishment of  a secondary  school  of  agriculture  in  each  of  the 
eleven  congressional  districts,  the  schools  to  be  branches  of  the 


21 


state  college  of  agriculture.  The  annual  income  of  each  of  these 
new  schools  is  estimated  at  six  thousand  dollars,  but  the  locality 
securing  the  school  must  furnish  not  less  than  two  hundred  acres 
of  land  and  necessary  equipment  in  the  way  of  buildings,  live 
stock,  machinery,  farm  implements,  etc.  Nine  separate  build- 
ings are  contemplated  for  each  school.  The  course  of  study 
will  cover  four  years,  including  one  year  of  elementary  school 
work,  and  will  prepare  graduates  for  entrance  to  the  state  col- 
lege of  agriculture. 

Michigan,  in  1903,  established  ten  county  normal  training 
schools  for  rural  teachers,  in  which  instruction  in  elementary 
agriculture  is  given  during  the  spring  only,  so  that  it  really 
amounts  to  work  in  school  gardening  and  to  making  them  some- 
what familiar  with  the  better  text-books  on  agriculture.  There 
are  now  forty-five  of  these  schools  in  Michigan.  The  six  normal 
schools  of  Missouri  give  each  year  a good  course  in  agriculture, 
two  of  them  devoting  five  periods  a week  through  the  entire  year 
to  it.  The  California  Polytechnic  School,  at  San  Luis  Obispo, 
a state  institution  established  in  January,  1902,  offers  second- 
ary courses  in  agriculture,  domestic  science  and  mechanics,  cov- 
ering a period  of  three  years. 

There  are  here  and  there  through  the  country  three  or  four 
private  secondary  schools  in  agriculture,  maintained  without 
state  aid.  One  of  these  is  a Catholic  school  at  San  Francisco. 
Another  is  the  Mount  Herman  school,  founded  by  D.  L.  Moody, 
near  Northfield,  Mass.  The  third  is  the  National  Farm  School, 
at  Doylestown,  Penn.,  a school  for  Jews,  and  here  and  there 
through  the  country  city  high  schools  have  developed  quite 
strong  agricultural  courses. 

Minnesota  has  an  excellent  secondary  school  in  agriculture 
in  connection  with  her  state  agricultural  college,  and  has  estab- 
lished another  at  Crookston,  in  the  northwest  part  of  the  state, 
which  offers  a three  years’  course  of  six  months  each,  to  which 


22 


students  from  the  country  are  admitted  without  examination. 
Popular  short  courses  of  one  week  each  are  also  held  at  this 
school.  Ten  high  schools  give  instruction  in  agriculture. 

Ohio,  Indiana,  Illinois,  and  many  other  states  are  rapidly 
consolidating  the  rural  schools,  grading  them,  and  introducing 
agricultural  instruction  in  the  higher  grades.  In  Indiana  eighty- 
two  of  the  ninety-two  counties  have  consolidated  schools. 

Nebraska  has  five  normal  schools  which  give  instruction  in 
agriculture,  and  one  hundred  and  three  high  schools  in  which 
some  phases  of  the  subject  are  taught.  In  Ohio  there  are  now 
forty-seven  township  and  thirty-nine  city  high  schools  which 
teach  agriculture;  in  Missouri,  sixty-one;  in  Illinois,  eleven;  in 
Indiana  eleven. 

The  Condition  in  Iowa. 

Iowa  is  the  greatest  all-around  agricultural  state  in  the 
Union.  In  intelligence,  thrift,  and  the  qualities  which  go  to 
make  good  citizenship,  her  people  are  believed  to  be  the  equal 
of  the  people  of  any  other  state  and  the  superior  of  most.  But 
in  the  systematic  education  of  her  youth  .she  is  far  behind  most 
other  states  north  of  Mason  & Dixon’s  line.  Only  the  length  of 
this  paper  enables  me  to  resist  the  temptation  to  discuss  the 
chaotic  condition  of  our  educational  system  in  general.  We 
have  about  12,000  rural  schools  in  Iowa,  and  Superintendent 
Riggs  is  authority  for  the  statement  that  more  than  2,000  of 
them  never  enroll  more  than  ten  pupils  each  in  a given  term, 
wdiile  many  of  them  enroll  less  than  five.  Less  than  3,000,  or 
about  25  per  cent,  enroll  more  than  twenty  pupils  in  any  given 
term.  And  enrollment  is  not  synonymous  with  attendance.  Our 
efforts  as  a state  to  give  our  youth  the  knowledge  of  the  prin-. 
ciples  of  agriculture  are  confined  to  the  work  done  through  the 
State  College  of  Agriculture.  In  a few  counties,  progressive 
county  superintendents  have  voluntarily  introduced  the  study 


23 


of  corn  and  other  grains,  and  some  of  the  simple  nature  studies, 
in  the  rural  schools.  The  pioneer  in  this  line  was  Cap.  Miller, 
of  Keokuk  county.  In  Page  county,  Miss  Jessie  Field  caught 
the  spirit  and  has  carried  this  work  still  further,  until  practi- 
cally every  rural  school  in  the  county  is  devoting  considerable 
time  each  week  to  studying  the  simpler  things  of  agriculture. 
O.  H.  Benson  is  doing  work  of  the  same  sort  in  Wright  county. 
In  other  counties  here  and  there,  scattered  over  the  state,  an 
occasional  real  teacher,  encouraged  by  some  progressive  farmer 
in  the  neighborhood,  has  taken  up  the  work.  Some  seven  or 
eight  high  schools  have  inaugurated  some  agricultural  work, 
and  two  or  three  of  the  smaller  colleges  of  the  state. 

Nor  have  we  as  yet  taken  even  the  first  step  toward  remedy- 
ing this  unfortunate  condition.  While  many  of  our  people  and 
many  of  our  teachers  understand  our  shortcomings,  no  system- 
atic effort  has  been  made  toward  improvement.  While  other 
states  are  redirecting  their  rural  schools  and  educating  teachers 
to  take  charge  of  them,  we  are  doing  nothing  at  all  in  this  direc- 
tion, except  that  the  Extension  Department  of  the  college  has 
held  one  summer  institute  for  country  school  teachers  in  a north- 
western county. 

The  work  of  the  Iowa  Agricultural  College  consists  of : 

First. — Providing  various  four-year  courses  in  agriculture, 
civil  and  mechanical  engineering,  veterinary  science  and  general 
and  domestic  science.  These  are  open  to  students  from  accred- 
ited high  schools,  or  to  those  who  can  pass  an  examination  of 
the  same  grade. 

Second. — A special  two  years  course  in  agriculture,  to  which 
is  admitted  students  who  can  not  meet  the  entrance  requirements 
to  the  regular  course. 

Third. — Experimental  work  in  agriculture,  carried  on  by 
the  Experiment  Station,  which  is  supported  in  part  by  the; 
national  government.  The  results  of  this  work  are  disseminated 


24 


in  the  form  of  bulletins,  which  are  sent  free  to  residents  of  the 
state  who  apply  for  them. 

Fourth. — A two  weeks’  course  in  agriculture,  open  to  boys 
and  men  of  any  age,  at  which  is  taught  corn  and  livestock  judg- 
ing, dairying,  etc. 

Fifth. — Extension  work  which  is  carried  on  by  a special 
corps  of  instructors  who  conduct  short  courses  of  one  week  each 
in  various  counties  of  the  state,  twenty-one  being  planned  for 
this  winter.  The  Extension  Department  also  publishes  bulleJ 
tins  written  in  popular  form  and  mans  the  special  trains  run  by 
the  railroads. 

The  Agricultural  College  graduated  its  first  class  in  1872. 
From  a list  of  the  alumni,  published  by  the  college  in  January, 
1910,  and  which  therefore  does  not  include  the  class  of  1910,  I 
find  that  a total  of  362  have  been  graduated  with  degrees  of 
Bachelor  of  Agriculture,  and  Bachelor  of  Scientific  Agriculture. 
Of  these  there  are  nine  whose  addresses  are  not  known,  five  are 
dead,  212  reside  outside  of  Iowa,  and  136  reside  in  Iowa.  How 
many  of  those  remaining  in  the  state  are  on  farms  or  engaged 
in  agricultural  pursuits,  I have  not  been  able  to  ascertain.  It 
is  of  course  true  that  many  times  this  number  of  students  have 
studied  agriculture  at  this  institution  one  or  more  terms.  The 
number  this  year,  reported  in  the  four  years  courses  in  the  agri- 
cultural department,  is  703,  while  there  are  134  in  the  spe- 
cial two-year  course.  Better  work  is  now  being  done  at 
the  college  than  at  any  previous  time,  but  the  figures  quoted 
show  how  far  short  it  falls  of  meeting  our  real  needs.  We  have 
more  than  200,000  farms  in  the  state  of  Iowa,  and  it  is  perfectly 
evident  that  if  any  considerable  percentage  of  the  boys  who  will 
till  these  farms  in  the  future  are  to  have  even  a partial  knowl- 
edge of  the  principles  of  agriculture,  they  must  get  it  elsewhere 
than  at  the  State  Agricultural  College.  It  is  worthy  of  note 
that  the  total  enrollment  in  all  the  state  agricultural  colleges  of 


25 


the  Union,  not  including  the  schools  for  colored  people  and  not 
including  the  short  and  special  courses,  was  61,662  for  the  year 
1909,  and  of  this  number  but  5,873  were  enrolled  in  the  agricul- 
tural courses ; or  about  nine  and  one-half  per  cent  of  the  stu- 
dents of  the  agricultural  colleges  studied  agriculture. 

For  the  year  ending  June  30,  1910,  our  Agricultural  College 
received  for  educational  support,  $276,935 ; for  fees  and  tuition, 
$58,214;  for  scholarship  fund,  $1,350;  for  agricultural  exten- 
sion work,  $32,000;  for  experiment  work,  $78,000,  and  for 
building  and  equipment  fund,  $163,815,  or  a total  of  over  $610,- 
000  during  the  one  year.  During  the  last  five  years  $718,526 
was  expended  for  building  purposes,  included  in  this  being 
$329,934  for  a hall  of  agriculture. 

The  work  of  the  short  course  which  is  held  at  the  college  for 
two  weeks  during  the  winter  vacation,  and  the  work  of  the  Ex- 
tension Department,  is  designed  not  to  furnish  an  agricultural 
education,  but  to  give  to  the  practical  farmer  information  of  a 
quasi-scientific  character,  and  to  stimulate  interest  in  better 
farming.  The  Extension  Department  is  doing  by  word  of  mouth 
what  the  better  agricultural  papers  have  been  doing  for  years 
in  a very  much  larger  way  by  the  printed  page.  The  state  is 
getting  very  much  greater  direct  material  benefit  for  the  money 
it  spends  in  this  extension  work  than  for  any  other  money  spent 
through  the  Agricultural  College.  This  benefit  comes  not  alone 
from  the  knowledge  imparted.  The  best  teaching  is  not  the  im- 
parting of  knowledge,  but  the  creating  of  an  appetite  for  it, 
inspiring  the  desire  to  learn  and  know.  We  can  establish  better 
schools  only  where  the  people  want  them  and  are  willing  to  take 
the  initiative.  The  extension  work  prepares  the  way.  The  ex- 
tension worker  must  be  an  inspirational  teacher.  His  pupils 
come  to  hear  him — not  because  they  want  the  credits  necessary 
to  secure  a diploma,  but  because  they  want  to  learn  what  he  can 
teach.  If  he  does  not  interest  them,  they  do  not  come  back.  The 


best  teachers  in  the  state  are  those  of  the  Extension  Department 
' — the  most  unselfish,  the  most  enthusiastic,  the  most  devoted. 

But  the  work  being  done  by  the  Agricultural  College  in  it» 
various  activities — important  as  this  work  is — is  not  the  work 
that  most  needs  to  be  done  for  the  betterment  of  Iowa  agricul- 
ture and  for  the  betterment  of  the  farm  boy.  We  must  place 
the  opportunity  to  secure  a knowledge  of  scientific  agriculture 
within  reach  of  the  average  boy  on  the  farm.  It  seems  foolish  to 
permit  the  boy  to  grow  up  in  ignorance  of  the  things  he  most 
needs  to  know  in  his  business,  and  then  try  to  teach  the  man  in 
short  courses  of  a week  each  year.  We  should  in  some  way  build 
a system  of  secondary  education  designed  to  meet  the  needs  of 
the  boy  who  will  be  a farmer.  Ignorant  men  can  not  long  cul- 
tivate lands  worth  $200  an  acre.  The  prosperity  of  Iowa  depends 
upon  the  intelligence  of  the  men  who  till  her  farms.  The  resi- 
dent of  the  town  and  city  must,  for  his  own  preservation,  aid  in 
placing  the  right  sort  of  education  within  reach  of  the  farm  boy. 

In  conclusion,  I have  not  an  elaborate  worked-out  system  to 
propose,  but  I suggest  certain  lines  along  which  we  should 
move: 

First,  we  can  not  supply  agricultural  education  by  legislative 
dictum.  Efforts  to  enact  laws  which  will  require  forthwith  the 
teaching  of  agriculture  in  all  schools  or  in  all  rural  schools  are 
not  well  directed. 

Second,  the  state  can  not,  as  in  other  countries,  control  en- 
tirely the  education  of  its  youth,  but  without  more  direct 
aid  of  the  state  than  has  been  given  in  the  past,  we  will  make  no 
general  progress.  This  aid  can  be  most  effectively  given  in  two 
ways.  First,  training  teachers  competent  to  give  instruction  in 
agricultural  subjects.  This  should  be  begun  in  a wholesale  way 
by  a course  in  agriculture  at  the  State  Normal  School,  by  estab- 
lishing a special  summer  school  for  rural  teachers  at  the  State 
Agricultural  College,  and  by  holding  special  short  courses  for 


rt 


teachers  under  the  direction  of  the  Extension  Department  in 
various  parts  of  the  state.  In  these  ways  we  can  make  a begin- 
ning, but  at  the  earliest  possible  moment  we  must  provide  train-- 
ing  schools  for  rural  teachers  which  will  really  fit  them  for  rural 
teaching.  Second,  by  giving  financial  aid  to  rural  schools  which 
provide  secondary  courses.  Our  people  can  most  easily  be  in- 
duced to  spend  their  own  money  when  by  so  doing  they  can  get 
some  of  the  state’s  money.  Only  in  this  way  can  the  state  exer- 
cise a strong  influence  upon  the  character  of  the  rural  schools. 

Third,  the  foundation  of  any  real  system  of  agricultural  ed- 
ucation is  the  rural  school.  As  a state  we  have  spent  so  much 
time  and  money  in  fashioning  the  lily-work  on  the  pillars  and 
constructing  a band-stand  on  the  roof,  that  we  have  given  almost 
no  attention  to  the  foundation.  The  first  step  toward  the  im- 
provement of  the  rural  school  will  be  in  the  direction  of  consoli- 
dation. Efforts  to  introduce  agricultural  instruction  in  pri- 
mary schools  have  not  been  successful.  The  most  that  can  be 
done  in  this  direction  is  to  give  primary  studies  an  agricultural 
flavor  and  interest  the  children  in  certain  forms  of  nature  work. 
With  the  consolidated  school,  however,  grades  can  be  estab- 
lished, and  in  the  higher  grades  excellent  work  in  agriculture 
and  domestic  science  can  be  carried  on  by  competent  teachers. 

Fourth,  we  must  have  a system  of  secondary  agricultural 
schools  open  to  boys  and  girls  from  all  the  rural  schools  and 
planned  with  especial  reference  to  their  needs.  The  school  year 
should  not  exceed  six  months.  Our  ultimate  aim  should  be  to 
place  a first-class  secondary  school  within  driving  distance  of 
every  farm,  and  these  schools  should,  so  far  as  possible,  be  in 
the  country  and  not  in  the  small  town,  to  the  end  that  around 
them  may  be  built  up  a rural  social  life.  For  lack  of  teachers 
it  may  be  necessary  to  first  establish  a secondary  school  in  each 
congressional  district,  which  can  later  be  developed  into  training 
schools  for  teachers,  but  township  high  schools  should  be  the 


28 


goal,  and  they  should  be  made  available  at  once  to  every  com- 
munity that  is  now  ready  for  them.  The  courses  of  study  at 
these  schools  should  be  planned  solely  with  the  purpose  of  giving 
the  farm  boy  and  girl  the  education  they  most  need  for  farming, 
and  not  with  a view  of  preparing  them  to  enter  the  agricultural 
or  any  other  college.  Ninety-five  per  cent  of  the  pupils  who 
attend  them  will  attend  no  other  school. 

Fifth,  the  Extension  Department  should  be  provided  with 
greatly  increased  funds,  that  it  may  be  enabled  to  extend  its 
short  course  work  and  inaugurate  a series  of  institutes  at  which 
rural  teachers  may  be  given  the  inspiration  which  they  so  much 
need  and  the  instruction  which  will  enable  them  to  introduce 
nature  work.  The  state  now  gives  this  department  $32,000  an- 
nually. Last  year  the  communities  in  which  it  worked  contrib- 
uted over  $31,000.  Not  less  than  $100,000  per  year  should  be 
made  available  for  the  sole  use  of  the  Extension  Department. 

Finally,  if  we  wish  to  improve  our  schools,  we  must  be  will- 
ing to  spend  our  money.  We  have  spent  freely  in  the  past  for 
our  higher  educational  institutions,  which  educate  the  few.  We 
must  spend  freely  in  the  future  for  grade  and  secondary  schools 
to  educate  the  many.  This  state  can  well  afford  to  support 
both.  But  if  to  re-direct  our  schools  we  must  re-direct  our  ap- 
propriations for  education,  then  let  it  be  done. 


